Democrat Dwyer elected Board of Education chairman

Michael C. Juliano

Updated 9:21 pm, Sunday, December 2, 2012

Photo: Michael C. Juliano/Staff Photo

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Philip Dwyer, the Board of Education's Democratic former vice chairman, right, was elected chairman for the next 12 months at Tuesday night's meeting. Republican Pamela Iacono, previously chairwoman, left, was elected to serve as vice chairwoman. less

Philip Dwyer, the Board of Education's Democratic former vice chairman, right, was elected chairman for the next 12 months at Tuesday night's meeting. Republican Pamela Iacono, previously chairwoman, left, was ... more

Photo: Michael C. Juliano/Staff Photo

Democrat Dwyer elected Board of Education chairman

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Philip Dwyer, the Board of Education's vice chairman for the past year, was elected chairman at Tuesday night's meeting. Dwyer, nominated by fellow Democratic board member Sue Brand, won the seat by a vote of 6-3.

"I appreciate your trust in me as chair and I hope I will continue to earn it," said Dwyer, who also asked the board and attendees to give Iacono a round of applause for her service. "I see my role as facilitating discussion among the eight of you so that you may come in this room with nine different opinions, but we make one decision that is in the best interest of the students."

Dwyer, a former Board of Education member in Rye, N.Y., gained a seat on the Fairfield board, which has a Democratic majority, in last year's municipal election. He is a retired president and chief executive officer of the Central Connecticut Coast YMCA, having served in that capacity for two decades.

Dwyer, who has coached and refereed Fairfield youth soccer, holds a bachelor's degree in community leadership and development from Springfield College and a master's degree in government-public administration from Lehigh University.

Iacono, a board member since 2008, was elected to serve as the vice chairwoman by a vote of 8-1 after being nominated by Fattibene. Democratic board member Perry Liu voted in opposition.

A former human resources manager, Iacono joined the board in June 2008 to fill a vacancy when Cynthia Foothorap stepped down for health reasons. She then won election to the board in November 2009.